Oh my goodness, guys. This weekend. This weekend is the opening weekend for How to Train Your Dragon 2. Have you gotten your tickets? Don't spoil anything and I promise I won't after I see it tomorrow! The soundtrack, the visuals, everything. Inspiration is in the air!

Chapter Twenty: The Battle of Berk Part I

Another crash rocked their home, violent and jarring, cracking the foundations and collapsing one half of it into the ground. Astrid pulled Hiccup up as timber splintered, and the two leapt onto their dragons, the roof falling from under them as their dragons jumped to the safety of the air. They looked behind them to see their house fall into a pit in the earth, created by hungry and wild dragons thirsty for blood, in a matter of measly minutes.

Hiccup remembered how Alvin had found a way to make a Whispering Death submissive, thousands of teeth eating rock and root and wood until nothing was left. Seeing them crawl from beneath their house made him sick to his stomach, the creatures slithering through the dust left behind. Astrid grabbed the war horn from her belt, watching in terror as the Whispering Deaths began running down the hill towards the village, and released all her air into it. The blow shattered the calm of night, waking everyone up, making the people of the alliance startle awake and grab their weapons as one, two, four, seven Whispering Deaths crawled towards the houses.

Hiccup dove immediately and Toothless fired shots towards the dragons, the light making them hiss and whine, diving back into the safety of the ground. Men and women ran into the square, weapons drawn, as something flew above Hiccup's head. He ducked and turned violently, and saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut on Barf and Belch, banking back to meet with him.

"What's going on?" Tuffnut asked quickly.

"Whispering Deaths, six or seven of them," Hiccup said quickly. "We need light, lots of it. I need them scared."

"Got it!" the twins replied simultaneously, whirling around. They began lighting the paths, showing the foot soldiers where to go and where they were. Hookfang jumped into the village centre and lit himself on fire, charging for the creatures as they tried over and over to attack. Fishlegs meanwhile was feeding Meatlug rocks by the forge, loading her up with the fuel she needed.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried. She hovered next to him, panting. "They're going to tear this island apart!"

"I know," Hiccup replied frantically. He was about to continue, to give some direction, some advice, before he saw the tiniest movement behind her head. He didn't know what it was, the slight snap of movement, the shadow, growing ever-nearer.

"ASTRID!" he screamed. Toothless lurched forward, putting himself in the way of Astrid and the object, barely stopping the arrow from hitting her. It hit his shield and bounced off it with a loud clang. He looked over his shield, and saw the speckle of shadows over the water, the sea spattered with tiny dots. Ships lined the darkened ocean, and one landed at the docks, silent.

"It was a distraction," Hiccup gasped, rearing back. "Get to the docks!" he yelled to the soldiers below him. "They're at the docks!"

Astrid flew forward, slicing through the air and illuminating the ships with her fire. Men clad in heavy armour, the Skrill painted upon them in paint red as blood, drew their weapons as they raced over the wooden docks up towards the stairs leading up to Berk. Stormfly kept lighting the boats on fire, trying to slow them down. But hundreds of ships pressed forward. Astrid begged Stormfly to keep lighting them, until the Nadder wrenched back and spun away, tearing back towards the houses.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cried.

Behind! Stormfly replied. Astrid turned her head and saw more shadows, shadows in the sky, growing ever nearer. Dragons, hundreds of them, flew towards the island carrying massive objects – chains, axes, boulders – Astrid called out to warn Hiccup ahead of her as he gave orders to the soldiers below, when a blinding light struck Stormfly's wing. Stormfly shrieked as the fiery syrup danced over her scales, coating the thin, delicate parts of her wing. She began to fall out of the sky.

"It's okay, no no, easy!" Astrid said, trying to regain control, even though she heard Stormfly screaming in pain in mind and body, before she crashed into the ground. Astrid's body flung forward, over Stormfly's head, crashing into the soil. The air flew out of her lungs as her back slammed into and across the ground, scraping her shoulders and back. She rolled over and over, clawing at the ground to stop herself before she tumbled over the edge of the cliff. The sheer drop made her throat seized before she landed on the wood of the docks. Her vision went black for a moment, the sounds around her muffling slightly.

Fall?! Stormfly shrieked in her mind, shoving the pain aside to see if she was alright. Astrid grimaced, her body aching. She couldn't breathe, only stare at the sky. Through her teary eyes, she saw a dragon fly overhead, then another. More dragons, some she didn't recognize as being dragons either because of their race, or because they were mutilated. And they carried huge objects in their claws.

She forced herself to roll over, coughing and trying to regain her breath. A fall onto the docks like that should have mangled her, but the blood in her veins flowed hard and hungry, hot and angry. She finally made it to her belly, trying to suck in a breath, choking instead. She saw the blurry outline of her axe nearby, just out of reach, and behind it, the first Berserker ship crashed into the docks. Soldiers leapt over the railing and landed on the wooden docks, racing for the stairs that would lead up the cliff to the houses of Berk. And in between them and those stairs was Astrid.

She bit her lip and growled, finally sucking in a breath, seeing every shape in vivid colour and sharpness. They were racing for her, swords and maces and clubs and daggers drawn, screaming, starving. Astrid tried to reach for her axe as they ran down the dock, coughing and struggling to her knees. She grabbed the handle and felt it familiar in her palm as the first soldier raised a sword to cut her down. She threw her arm up, catching the blade with her blade, twisting it out of the man's hands. Her shaken muscles wrenched within her back, and she screamed as the sword came free, tumbling into the ocean. She kicked the man back and scrambled for the stairs, the army on her heels.

Astrid knew the stairs, and she climbed up them three at a time, her legs burning and her heart racing as explosions lit the night sky. She ducked as a fire ball illuminated the entire village, exploding like Red Death flame. She ran faster as the soldiers raced after her, throwing weapons at her and missing terribly. She made it to the top of the stairs and hurled herself into the heart of the village, waving for the foot soldiers who were all looking up into the sky.

"The stairs!" she cried over the noise. "They're climbing the stairs!"

Cauli looked over, great sword weighed in her huge hands, hair askew and lips bloody. She barked an order to the warriors and warmaidens, who all followed her towards the stairs. Astrid looked over to see where the fire ball had hit, and she caught her breath. Her house. The house her parents had built… It wasn't like the Skrill where it had been on fire for a moment. The whole house had been decimated into a smouldering pile of embers and splintered timber. She only stared at the destruction: the foundations of the house surrounded by an uncountable number of people, all blown apart into shattered bits and pieces. She thought of the time she had spent nailing that roof back together, working her hands to raw flesh, keeping the last memories of her parents alive as Hissup slept through the healing of his wounds. And now it was gone, beyond repair, surrounded by blood.

"Astrid!" Cauli screamed. Astrid couldn't move. Something sharp hit her shoulder, sinking into the flesh, nicking the bone, sending her body smashing into the ground. A huge arrow jutted through her shoulder under her collarbone, and she screamed, pain and shock and grief and terror all shooting from her mouth. Cauli leapt over her body and struck a soldier down, nearly cutting him in half. Blood flew in indiscernible directions before Cauli's soldiers took over so Cauli could get her hands on Astrid. She lifted Astrid with difficulty, dragging her towards the forge and away from the mouth of the stairs.

She threw her sword to the ground and eased Astrid against a stone wall.

"Breathe, Astrid!" Cauli barked. Astrid realized she hadn't been, her breaths light and terrified.

"Those people – " Astrid stammered.

"Are dead," Cauli interrupted. "There is no saving them, so forget about them for now."

"Astrid!" a voice called from outside. Gobber limped in and hustled over. He leaned next to Astrid and cupped the back of her head with his hand. Cauli left to fight again, screams and cries filling the sky. Gobber gave Astrid a shake.

"What were you doing out there?!" Gobber said, pulling her pauldron off her arm. Her chest was wet, the wound bleeding more than she thought. She couldn't breathe.

"Fire," she stammered. "They blew it up, those people, they're all dead, everyone's dead!"

Gobber shook her again, and she felt the arrow. She hissed.

"Listen to me!" Gobber growled. "You have an arrow stuck in your shoulder, can you feel it?"

"I –"

"Can you feel it?!" Gobber yelled, twisting the arrow.

"YES!" Astrid shrieked.

"Good," he said. His eyes were intense, his mouth tight and his body vibrating. He had blood up his arm, his sword hand drenched in it. "I'm going to pull the arrow out, alright? And you're going to keep fighting, alright?"

"Gobber –"

"I trained you to be a hunter, remember that? To fight dragons?"

Astrid nodded quickly, breathing hoarsely. "Yes."

"You were the top of that class. You can see weaknesses, you can exploit them, take them down."

Astrid shook her head and hiccupped. "Those w-were dragons, not people, I don't want to kill people."

Gobber softened. "Nobody likes killing people, m'dear. But you have to if you ever want to see that sister of yours. You're taking down those who would take her away, and I know you don't want that. And think of the family you want to have, the children you are fighting for."

Astrid sucked in a breath.

"You need to find those weak spots. They're just like dragons; under the arms, those legs. You keep moving so they can't hit you. You are quick, you use anything you can as a weapon, and you don't let anyone reach the Great Hall, understand?"

She didn't have time to agree before Gobber yanked the arrow out of her shoulder, a spurt of blood following it. She almost screamed, but choked instead, as Gobber began tying fabric around it, tighter and tighter. She bit her lip and growled against the pain, her blood growing hot and violent. She needed a weapon, she needed to fight. She needed to focus on protecting the present and the future instead of worrying about the past. She could mourn later. She would fight now.

Gobber hoisted her to her feet, and looked at her again. "Don't let them get to the Great Hall," he repeated. "We need to buy the villagers enough time to make it across the island!"

Astrid nodded once, scared, breathing shallowly. And she ran. She ran out into the main square, her arm numbing from the pressure of her make-shift bandage. She felt new instincts rolling and roaring through her veins, her dragon blood showing her openings and escapes and weaknesses like a mentor. A Berserker boy ran to her, arms raised, fingers around a sword. Astrid ducked, faster than a Nadder, and without really intending to, the blade of her axe sliced his leg. The boy fell with a blood curdling shriek, and Astrid silenced it with one more swing of her weapon.

She wavered for a moment, the body twitching on the ground, bloody with fleshy bits and goo she didn't recognize. She felt sick.

Down, Stormfly croaked in her mind. She straightened her back and snapped back to reality. Astrid left the body in the mud, running away from the smell of iron and the sight of red, and found her dragon behind a house.

The first thing she noticed was the smell of meat. Cooked meat. Astrid's instincts flew away and her arms began to shake. Her Nadder, her beautiful Deadly Nadder, hung in the shadows. Astrid dropped her sword and leaned next to her. Her wing, still sticky and steaming from the fiery sap that coated it, had been charred. Astrid suppressed a cry as Stormfly wheezed and groaned. The wing that always cramped and seized was next to useless. She didn't understand. Dragon skin was impossible to burn.

Astrid cradled Stormfly's head in her lap, trying to hold her, to comfort her among the loud noises and bright explosions. "It's okay," she whimpered. "I'm here."

No. Go. Saviour. Spirit Weaver, Stormfly replied painfully. I cannot fly.

"I'm not leaving you!" Astrid yelled.

Yes, you are, Stormfly said. I have my flame. They have theirs. They are almost at the Hall. You must buy our people some time.

Astrid sucked back another wave of nauseous tears. "No… please."

Stormfly roared and snapped at her rider, in pain and angry and desperate. Astrid cried out and scrambled back to avoid her jaws. She looked at her one more time, her dragon huddled in the dark, and forced herself to run away. It tore her heart out, but she felt Stormfly with her. She was safe behind the houses for now. Other houses had been decimated, people were dead, and Berserkers and Outcasts were climbing the muddy hill to the Great Hall, pushing the alliance soldiers back. Astrid forced her legs to move, hoping she could meet Cauli and the others before it was too late.

Hiccup soared through the air, sweating profusely under his suit. Hiccup could hardly breathe, his heart racing out of his chest. A rogue dragon was on their tail. Toothless wheezed as he flew faster and faster.

"C'mon, bud, lose him!" Hiccup screamed over the howling wind. Toothless groaned and dove towards the water. The rogue dragon behind him, a Deadly Nadder with red skin and a broken spirit, raced after them, spewing fire at them. Hiccup twisted back and forth, the two of them working in sync. Through their bond, they knew how to fly better than they had before, Hiccup moving his foot just as Toothless banked or dove.

The water emerged from the clouds. There were ships below them, torchlights dancing on the docks, barrels full of fiery syrup that lit Berk on fire against the midnight backdrop of the sky. Arrows doused in the sticky flame shot up to the Night Fury that barrelled toward them, and they lurched out of the way just in time, the heat searing Hiccup's cheek as it soared by. It hit the dragon behind him in the chest, and the creature screamed a terrifying and disgusting scream. Toothless leveled out and shot back up away from the ships that tried to shoot him out of the sky. The Nadder fell, body aflame, crashing into a ship. The flames lit the barrels on fire and exploded, an entire ship destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"The fire they have, it's flammable!" Hiccup growled to Toothless. "Like oil!"

Two shots left, Toothless groaned. Hiccup ducked as more fire shot passed them.

They twisted around, Hiccup's stomach slamming into his back as they dove down, down, down towards the ships again. Hiccup thought it and Toothless did it: a shot hit another ship, sitting closer to another as they met the docks. The barrels lit again, and lit the barrels on another ship, and another and another.

The explosion as dozens of ships blowing up deafened Hiccup and singed his hands.

It worked better than expected. He was thankful for his suit against the heat as they flew out of the way of the cloud blooming upwards, another dragon flying after him. A Whispering Death writhed after him and Toothless flew forward with exhaustion. Hiccup couldn't catch his breath, his thoughts barely making sense, when Hiccup blinked.

"Where is Astrid?" he asked quickly.

Hiccup! Toothless cried. Hiccup gasped as Toothless barreled over to the side, a ball of sticky fire missing him by mere inches, sending the two of them spiralling out of control. They hit a sea stack and Hiccup was flung to the side, the rope tethering him to Toothless snapping apart. He curled up as he rolled over and over. He hit the side of his head on a rock and saw stars as his body came to a limp halt on the very edge of the stack.

HICCUP! Toothless screamed, seeing his rider groggily bring his hand to his bleeding head. The Whispering Death bore down on them. Toothless bared his teeth and fired his last shot to the dragon, who twisted out of the way. Hiccup made it to his knees shakily, almost hurling, his head throbbing. Toothless was screaming in his mind as the Whispering Death got closer and closer. Toothless closed the distance between him and Hiccup, fanning out his wings to protect him, gnashing his teeth and slinking back on his haunches before another body got in the way.

Jade wings and a huge body flew in the way, a massive wild Scauldron roaring and gnashing her teeth. Rose ran down the beast's neck, leaping onto the spiky back of the Whispering Death. She screamed as she brought a length of chain she found at the forge around the dragon's throat, pulling back with all her weight, trying to keep his head from burrowing back into the stone. Hiccup looked up and saw the Scauldron sink her teeth into the Whispering Death's throat, tearing it out and flinging the fleshy chuck to the side. Twitching and gargling, its body was twisted around by Rose, who forced it over the edge and into the ocean. She made it to her bare feet, blood spattering her cheek and tears in her clothing, the length of chain still in her hands.

"Are you alright?"

Hiccup nodded and stumbled to his feet, holding the side of his head. He felt the sticky blood slime through his hair, but he was okay. Rose dismounted and ran to him. She grabbed his face and he shied away, not wanting to be touched. Rose overpowered him and pressed her hand to his head, much to his dislike.

"The bleeding should stop faster than usual," Rose said. "Hold still."

"The dragons?" Hiccup asked.

"They're taking down the other dragons so the people can deal with the people," Rose replied. "Without riders, they are free to do what they must."

Hiccup gulped, thinking about the throat of the Whispering Death. He had never seen a dragon do that to another. Rose lifted her palm, the bleeding stopped. She looked over the water, finally taking a moment to look at those ships dotting over the surface.

"I never thought… Berserkers, Outcasts, working together."

"Their ships carry barrels of sticky oil or something," Hiccup remarked, pressing his palm to the fresh gash on his head. "Hit them, they blow up."

"Sun Sap… I'll tell the others," Rose recited quickly. "They'll strike there first, keep the rogue dragons away, buy you enough time to escape."

Hiccup looked up as Toothless perked his fins into the air. "What?"

Rose, on her way back to the Scauldron, looked back. "You need to get to safety."

"No, I'm not going anywhere," he retorted, climbing back onto Toothless' back. He went to secure himself, forgetting the tether had been snapped. He picked up the pieces and tied them together. Rose frowned.

"The whole point is to keep you safe!" Rose yelled. Hiccup sneered.

"And my point is to keep Berk safe. I'm safe with my dragon and I'm not going anywhere until they leave."

"They won't leave until everyone is dead!"

"Rose!" Hiccup barked. She shut her mouth and swallowed.

He noticed how young she truly was, fourteen winters old, huddling in clothing too loose for her, her short hair making her look like a boy. Her famished cheeks under her wide green eyes made him look down at her with a sad anger. She looked so tiny up against the Scauldron who had adopted her, blood around its jaws and down its slender neck.

"I am not leaving until I know my family and people are safe."

Rose grimaced. "But the dragons –"

The sea stack lurched to the side, rumbling through their bodies and making Rose stumble to her knees. Toothless crouched and the Scauldron flew into the air as the sea stack began to crumble. Three Whispering Deaths smashed through the rock and hollowed out the stack. It began to crumble apart into the ocean below.

"Rose!" Hiccup yelled as the rock began to split. She made it to her feet and scrambled to him. He grabbed her wrist and hauled her into the air, Toothless leaping off the stack as the last of it fell to pieces. He grunted and pulled Rose behind him, flying back into the clouds. Fire balls illuminated the clouds as they approached, as if there were dragons already waiting for them. Toothless shrieked as the clouds lit on fire in front of his face, and Rose and Hiccup gasped as the heat burned their eyes. Three Monstrous Nightmares, bodies on fire, bore down on them, snapping at them.

"Fly to the forest! Down, down!" she yelled. Hiccup dove immediately, away from the clouds, Toothless folding his wings to shoot out of the sky like a meteor. Hiccup pushed his body down over Rose to gain speed, but the ground was approaching fast.

"I have to level out!" Hiccup yelled.

"Not yet!" Rose replied.

Hiccup began to sweat the ground getting closer and closer and closer.

"Rose!"

"Not yet!"

He could smell more forest than ocean, the green getting closer.

"Rose!" he screamed as the distance closed between them.

"Now!"

Hiccup threw his weight back, hands clutching at the saddle of dear life, Rose squeezing the air out of chest with her twig-like arms. Toothless groaned as his body managed to barely scrape over the trees. The Nightmares began to level out behind them before screams filled the air below. Camouflaged Changewings grabbed onto the burning dragons out of the trees, spraying their acid in their faces and blinding them, unlatching from them as they crashed into the trees.

Hiccup reminded himself to breathe as they curled around the trees and back over the water, over a cluster of ships. Toothless was too tired, his wings shaking, so they couldn't turn fast enough as another sticky ball of fire shot for them, catching Hiccup's leg, spattering his thigh with the burning ooze. Hiccup grunted, pulling Toothless back, flying back into the trees. He thought the suit would protect him, but it burned through it like paper, catching his skin. They flew for only a minute, quickly gaining the cover, before Hiccup cried out in pain, forcing Toothless to land.

"My leg," Hiccup choked. Rose leapt off, her legs wobbly, pulling him from the Night Fury quickly. Toothless collapsed over the frozen soil, wheezing and folding his wings, shaking from tooth to tail fin. Rose pulled Hiccup forward, his leg burning fiercely. They fell over an embankment into the small stream, and the two cursed as the cold pierced their clothes. Hiccup fell into the water, shivering uncontrollably, as Rose reached under the surface and pulling the cooling sticky orange goop from his leg. She hissed as it burned her fingertips, throwing it away and swatting it from her skin.

"What is that?!" Hiccup cursed.

"Sun Sap," Rose growled as she pressed herself onto Hiccup's leg. "The Outcasts used it in the caves to keep their torches lit."

She pressed her hands down on him and he cursed over and over. He heard another explosion and looked towards where he thought the village sat.

"We have to get back," Hiccup spat. He tried to get up, but Rose pushed him down.

"No, this stuff burns hotter than dragon fire, you have to keep it cool. Toothless needs a rest."

Hiccup almost argued, but bit his tongue, and for a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to listen to nothing but the stream. Rose watched him. She swallowed and felt a trickle of warmth on her face. She brought her wet hand to her upper lip, thinking nothing, until she saw blood on her fingers from her nose. She stared at it and swallowed, wiping the rest away and washing it away in the stream before Hiccup could see, trembling slightly.